Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

ClickHouse VS Apache Pinot

Compare ClickHouse VS Apache Pinot and see what are their differences

ClickHouse logo ClickHouse

ClickHouse is an open-source column-oriented database management system that allows generating analytical data reports in real time.

Apache Pinot logo Apache Pinot

Apache Pinot is a real-time distributed OLAP datastore, built to deliver scalable real-time analytics with low latency.
  • ClickHouse Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-06-18
Not present

ClickHouse features and specs

  • High Performance
    ClickHouse is designed for fast processing of analytical queries, often performing significantly faster than traditional databases due to its columnar storage format and optimized query execution.
  • Scalability
    The system is built to handle extensive datasets by scaling horizontally through distributed cluster configurations, making it suitable for big data applications.
  • Real-time Data Ingestion
    ClickHouse supports real-time data ingestion and can immediately reflect changes in query results, which is valuable for use cases requiring instant data processing and analysis.
  • Cost Efficiency
    The open-source nature of ClickHouse makes it a cost-effective option, especially when compared to other commercial data warehouses.
  • SQL Compatibility
    ClickHouse features strong SQL support, which makes it easier for individuals with SQL expertise to transition and use the platform effectively.
  • Compression
    ClickHouse employs advanced compression algorithms that reduce storage requirements and improve query performance.

Possible disadvantages of ClickHouse

  • Complexity in Setup
    Setting up and managing ClickHouse, particularly in a distributed cluster environment, can be complex and require a higher level of expertise compared to some other database systems.
  • Limited Transaction Support
    ClickHouse is optimized for read-heavy operations and analytics but does not support full ACID transactions, which limits its use for certain transactional use cases.
  • Ecosystem and Tooling
    While the ecosystem is growing, ClickHouse still has fewer tools and third-party integrations compared to more mature databases, which can limit its utility in some environments.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running ClickHouse, especially for large datasets, can be resource-intensive, requiring significant memory and CPU resources.
  • Limited User Management
    The platform has relatively basic user management and security features, which may not meet the needs of enterprises with strict compliance and governance requirements.

Apache Pinot features and specs

  • Real-time Analytics
    Apache Pinot is designed for real-time analytics on large-scale data. It is capable of ingesting data from streaming sources like Apache Kafka, providing low-latency query capabilities on freshly ingested data.
  • High Throughput
    Pinot can handle high query loads and large datasets efficiently. Its architecture is optimized for distributed processing and fast query execution, making it suitable for use cases with high query throughput requirements.
  • Columnar Storage
    Pinot utilizes a columnar storage format, which allows efficient compression and fast retrieval of highly selective query results, reducing I/O and improving query performance.
  • Scalability
    Pinot is highly scalable and can be deployed across a distributed infrastructure. This makes it suitable for both growing startups and large enterprises with expanding data needs.
  • Integration with Big Data Ecosystem
    Apache Pinot integrates seamlessly with other big data technologies like Apache Kafka, Hadoop, and Spark, making it easier for organizations to adopt it in existing tech stacks.

Possible disadvantages of Apache Pinot

  • Complex Setup
    Deploying and configuring a Pinot cluster can be complex, especially for organizations without experience in distributed systems, requiring careful planning and resources.
  • Maintenance Overhead
    Running a Pinot cluster involves ongoing maintenance tasks such as monitoring, scaling, and upgrading the system, which can add to the operational overhead.
  • Learning Curve
    Organizations may encounter a steep learning curve when adopting Apache Pinot, especially if team members are not familiar with its architecture and operational procedures.
  • Limited Use Cases
    While Pinot is powerful for real-time analytics, it may not be the best choice for transactional or general-purpose database use cases, limiting its applicability in certain scenarios.
  • Resource Intensive
    Running Pinot efficiently requires a significant amount of computational resources, which might be a concern for organizations with limited infrastructure or budget.

Analysis of ClickHouse

Overall verdict

  • ClickHouse is a powerful and capable columnar DBMS that offers excellent performance for analytical workloads. Its open-source nature allows for flexibility and community-driven improvements, making it a strong option for organizations needing a scalable analytics platform.

Why this product is good

  • ClickHouse is considered a good choice for many use cases due to its high performance in processing large volumes of data and its efficiency in executing complex analytical queries. It is designed to work well with large datasets and provides real-time query capabilities, making it ideal for applications like business intelligence, web analytics, and IoT.

Recommended for

  • Large-scale data analysis
  • Real-time analytics dashboards
  • Businesses needing high-speed query performance
  • Web analytics platforms
  • IoT data processing
  • Financial industry for quick data aggregation

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to ClickHouse and Apache Pinot)
Databases
92 92%
8% 8
Relational Databases
100 100%
0% 0
Big Data
70 70%
30% 30
Data Warehousing
88 88%
12% 12

User comments

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Reviews

These are some of the external sources and on-site user reviews we've used to compare ClickHouse and Apache Pinot

ClickHouse Reviews

Rockset, ClickHouse, Apache Druid, or Apache Pinot? Which is the best database for customer-facing analytics?
โ€ClickHouse is an open-source, column-oriented, distributed, and OLAP database thatโ€™s very easy to set up and maintain. โ€œBecause itโ€™s columnar, itโ€™s the best architectural approach for aggregations and for โ€˜sort byโ€™ on more than one column. It also means that group byโ€™s are very fast. Itโ€™s distributed, replication is asynchronous, and itโ€™s OLAPโ€”which means itโ€™s meant for...
Source: embeddable.com
ClickHouse vs TimescaleDB
Recently, TimescaleDB published a blog comparing ClickHouse & TimescaleDB using timescale/tsbs, a timeseries benchmarking framework. I have some experience with PostgreSQL and ClickHouse but never got the chance to play with TimescaleDB. Some of the claims about TimescaleDB made in their post are very bold, that made me even more curious. I thought itโ€™d be a great...
20+ MongoDB Alternatives You Should Know About
ClickHouse may be a great contender for moving analytical workloads from MongoDB. Much faster, and with JSON support and Nested Data Structures, it can be great choice for storing and analyzing document data.
Source: www.percona.com

Apache Pinot Reviews

Rockset, ClickHouse, Apache Druid, or Apache Pinot? Which is the best database for customer-facing analytics?
The biggest value behind Apache Pinot is that you can index each column, which allows it to process data at a super fast speed. โ€œItโ€™s like taking a pivot table and saving it to disk. So you can get this highly dimensional data with pre-computed aggregations and pull those out in what seems like supernaturally fast time,โ€ says Tim Berglund, Developer Relations at StarTree....
Source: embeddable.com

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, ClickHouse seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 60 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

ClickHouse mentions (60)

  • Setting up ClickHouse on macOS and Testing with Node.js
    ClickHouse is an open-source columnar database built for high-performance analytical queries. This guide shows how I installed ClickHouse on macOS, ran it in the background using a lightweight nohup setup that stores logs and PID in hidden user folders, and tested it with a minimal Node.js + TypeScript example using @clickhouse/client. - Source: dev.to / 15 days ago
  • From Go to Rust: Supercharging Our ClickHouse UDFs with Alloy
    At Agnostic, we build open-source infrastructure for collaborative blockchain data platforms. One of our flagship tools is clickhouse-evm, a suite of high-performance User Defined Functions (UDFs) that brings native Ethereum decoding and querying capabilities directly into ClickHouse. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • ๐Ÿง  From Hive and Elastic to ClickHouse: What Surprised Me
    Over the past few weeks, Iโ€™ve been diving into ClickHouse โ€” and itโ€™s been full of surprises. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Cross-Compiling Haskell under NixOS with Docker
    I attended the AWS Summit 2025 in Singapore. I enjoyed the event. There were booths from various companies which I found interesting, such as GitLab and ClickHouse. More importantly, I got to meet very interesting people. - Source: dev.to / 4 months ago
  • How to Build a Streaming Deduplication Pipeline with Kafka, GlassFlow, and ClickHouse
    ClickHouse: A fast columnar database. It will be our final destination for clean data. And, for simplicity in this tutorial, we'll cleverly use it as our "memory" or state store to remember which events we've already seen recently. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
View more

Apache Pinot mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Apache Pinot yet. Tracking of Apache Pinot recommendations started around May 2025.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing ClickHouse and Apache Pinot, you can also consider the following products

MySQL - The world's most popular open source database

Hashquery - A Python framework for defining and querying BI models in your data warehouse.

Apache Doris - Apache Doris is an open-source real-time data warehouse for big data analytics.

ViyaDB - In-Memory Analytical Database

PostgreSQL - PostgreSQL is a powerful, open source object-relational database system.

SlateDB - An embedded database built on object storage.